


Hello and goodbye

by TheBananaDoctor



Series: Oc archives [3]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Ending, Established Relationship, Evil Inquisitor (Dragon Age), Fluff and Angst, Lovers To Enemies, Lovers on opposite sides, M/M, Mage-Templar War (Dragon Age), Sad Ending, also, but they're in separate alternate endings, good ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-05 16:24:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21211553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBananaDoctor/pseuds/TheBananaDoctor
Summary: This is sort of a visual novel type purely writing based thing. I don't know how to describe it but here we are. This probably would be the last chapter of that visual novel, so just imagine that there has been all sorts of things happening in the mage-templar war that the Inquisitor re-started in this universe by demanding that all mages, despite their race, should be put to Circles.The story follows my friend and mine OCs, who are on opposite sides of the war and I suppose Elrahel, the mage, would be the player character since it's going to be from his point of view.





	1. The beginning of the end

**Author's Note:**

> This one's a bit of a shortie for reasons being that the next ones are the good and bad ending as if this were an actual game. So, welcome to the setting, everyone~ This is where it all starts.

“Hey, stop!” sounded an awfully familiar voice from behind him, as commanding as usual. It took him a moment to finally do as he was told since he didn’t really know if it was a good idea. Being a mage in a world where they were hunted by the templars and the inquisition wasn’t easy, but having someone who you deeply care about on the other side of the war was even worse. Elrahel still had some hope for his beloved, after all, he’d let the other follow him to his hideout in some old castle ruins from the last Blight.

He turned around to face Zarách, who was now standing right before him.

“What is it?” he asked carefully.

“The Inquisitor demands that I turn you in,” the answer was so straightforward that anything could happen. Was there still hope for anything good? “You’d be facing execution for unauthorized use of magic,” the templar continued with a still face.

“Not a fan of that, to be honest. What if I say no?”

“Do I have a choice?” he could hear the desperation finally kick in. Neither of them wanted to be in this situation.

“You always had a choice,” the mage finished with a sigh.


	2. Bad ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting with the bad ending. Prepare for angst and death.

Despite everything looking like it could fix itself with just talking, the man of his dreams was a man of action after all. Zarách drew his sword with great determination and raised it to close the distance between them. Elrahel grabbed his staff in defense but he truly hoped he wouldn’t have to use it. He had barely any time to react before the templar swung his first heavy attack at him. There was no emotion on his face and in all honesty, it scared Elrahel a little.

The mage cast his barrier spell to strengthen his defenses while the heavy sword cut through it like it was nothing. The sword must have had a purification cast on it. An obvious choice against any magical being. Luckily he had time to move out of its way before he was split in half. Elrahel had no idea how to react to this. He didn’t want to attack the other but would he ever tire either?

“We don’t have to do this! Just listen to me, okay,” he tried to reason with his partner, who was swinging at him with large, yet slow sweeps. Most of them were too close to their target which just gave him more of a reason to keep himself further away. He could see the other was not holding back at all. He didn’t seem like himself anymore either. “Do you think this is right?! Going after your friends and family like they’re just another speck of dust on the ground?”

“All mages deserve to die for not obeying the laws put upon them. In fact, it’s not just mages in that situation. Every law broken means punishment and I’m here to execute that!”

All the aggression made the templar a worse fighter but sure as hell made him more persistent. Blow after blow came raining in and Elrahel had to change his tactics. He poured lightning down from the skies and somehow the other kept coming at him relentlessly. A templar’s ability to nullify magic was perhaps amplified when they were emotional. Though he would eventually run out of stamina, hopefully.

“Are you here to execute me then? Like you did with Touko!” he blamed the other while holding back tears. “He didn’t even fight back, you monster!”

“Call me what you like, but he refused his place in the circle and doomed himself.”

“I was a fucking knight-enchanter for crying out loud and they suddenly decided that they didn’t want no ‘knife-ears’ using our ‘impure and savage magic’ with the inquisition anymore! A knight-enchanter, just because I happen to be Dalish! One of which, by the way, you are too. Deny it as much as you want but you can’t erase the vallaslin that marks you as one of us! Imagine when they decide they want the templars to be strictly human forces. What will you do then, huh?” his taunts seemed to have hit a weak spot since the sword came ever closer with even more force behind it. They had both taken a couple of hits in, though the mage was in a much better condition thanks to his barrier spell. Zarách on the other hand had severe burns all over his face and most likely somewhere under the protective armour as well.

“Then I’ll do whatever they tell me to. Even if it means the end for me.”

“You’re a heartless monster. Where did the man I fell in love with go?!”

“You’re looking at him. You just chose the wrong path, my love,” the way he said ‘my love’ disgusted Elrahel. He was wrong, this wasn’t the same man anymore.This was someone else who had been waiting in slumber all those years for his time to take control. For a moment he considered whether he’d been possessed by a demon or something worse but he was immune to it after all and so many things about him were still the same as the day they’d first met. His determination was still as grave as it ever was.

“Don’t call me that!” Elrahel protested in the end. It didn’t sound right anymore. “You have no right to call me anything after all you’ve done!” A pinch of hesitation was all it took for him to get distracted and the templar was successful in disarming the mage. His staff flew across the ruins, leaving Elrahel with hardly any defenses. His barrier would still last for some time but it would eventually run out if he couldn’t get to his staff fast enough.

Zarách seemed to have read his mind though as he went straight for it breaking it in half while purifying it of any magic. The staff just became a bunch of sticks. Spells cast without a staff were unpredictable and hardly ever worked as intended, so the mage didn’t want to risk it, although the templar might have left him no choice.

The fight became an intense game of cat and mouse as Elrahel did his best to stay out of range of the sword but he couldn’t deny that Zarách was a very adaptive and skilled fighter as he had a very good technique to close the distance between them and instantly go for the kill.

“Don’t I mean anything to you anymore!?” Elrahel finally stopped. He had to try and convince the other.

“This is nothing personal, just orders.”

“Your orders are shit and you should know that! Will you just leave everything we’ve shared behind because of some stupid orders about no elf mages in charge of anything?? Do you even love me anymore?”

A slight flinch from the templar meant that there might have still been some of his old self in there. But was it enough to bring him to his senses?

“No..” he admitted with distaste. The shock left the mage defenseless for a moment. That moment was enough for the other to close the distance for good. Elrahel dodged the swing very badly and ended up getting a deep cut through his left hand. his sleeve was now falling completely off as he lunged forward to embrace Zarách. With tears falling from his eyes, he powered up his spirit blade to impale the man he’d fallen in love with. The angle was steep enough to pierce a lung and possibly some other vital muscles.

Wide-eyed, Zarách dropped his sword and turned his head as much as he could to look at Elrahel, who was now holding him up, for the last time. He gently lowered him to the ground, keeping the templar on his lap as he curled over the dying man. Zarách couldn’t breathe properly but he was trying to say something. It was faint and barely intelligible, but he could finally make out the words “thank you” as the other took his last pained breaths.

Elrahel lost it. He cried and screamed at the top of his lungs while still holding tight the cooling body in his arms.


	3. Good ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finish it off with the good ending. I hope you'll enjoy this more than the last one! It's fluffy. :3

Despite everything looking like it could fix itself with just talking, the man of his dreams was a man of action after all. Zarách drew his sword hesitantly and raised it to close the distance between them. Elrahel grabbed his staff in defense but he truly hoped he wouldn’t have to use it. It took a moment too long for the templar to make an impactful first blow against him as he showed clear signs of internal conflict. Surely he didn’t want to do this but his reasonable side was forcing his hand. Elrahel could understand that, no doubt about it.

The mage cast his barrier spell to strengthen his defenses while the heavy sword cut through it like it was nothing. The sword must have had a purification cast on it. An obvious choice against any magical being. Luckily he had time to move out of its way before he was split in half. Elrahel had no idea how to react to this. He didn’t want to attack the other but would he ever tire either?

“We don’t have to do this! Just listen to me, okay,” he tried to reason with his partner, who was swinging at him with large, yet slow sweeps. Some of them weren’t even close to their target which just made him pity the other elf. He could see the other was holding back as much as possible. “You can just leave the order. Come live with me. Let’s be together again, like the good old times, please.”

“I can’t.. It.. It wouldn’t be right. Mages are a danger to all of Thedas! Haven’t you seen what has happened because of the rebellion? All the demons and the Fade is rippling all over our world. Blood magic is out of control!”

“Do you see me using any of those things against anyone out here?? We’re not all blood mages who want revenge on the world that has treated them like darkspawn! I want justice for all the innocent people who have suffered in a society that would rather imprison mages for their whole lives than let them live like anyone else.”

“Magic is dangerous! If we don’t control it, mages could put everyone in the kind of danger that we’ve never even seen before.”

“Or we could shape a more equal and better world into existence. Magic can be used for so many good things.”

“No.. You don’t understand..” Zarách’s blows were getting sloppy as he was wavering in his own conflicts.

“No! YOU don’t understand!” Elrahel finally raised his voice as he was slowly backed against a wall. The templar stopped in his tracks. “You don’t understand what it is like to live in constant fear of dying! This place is far enough from everywhere to be at least a little safe from your friends who don’t mind putting down every mage there and then without a trial whatsoever! But this place is so far away from everything that there isn’t any food! No supplies, hardly any herbs and water means going closer to your patrols! I’m risking my life even leading you here! And what, all because I care about you! I don’t want us to fight, not like this! Did you even notice the absolute zero offense I just cast while you were coming at me like a tornado?! Did you or were you too blinded by your duty to not notice when people are not a threat to you?!”

A silence filled the air in between them. Elrahel was fuming with everything he had just let out while Zarách stood there, dumbfounded, speechless. After a long pause in all action, the templar closed his eyes in defeat, yet he raised his sword one more time and came at the mage. He’d given all of himself to the obedient idiot, but it didn’t seem to be enough. At least he could die knowing it was the twisted fate of the lovers on the other sides of a war that got him in the end. He closed his eyes and prepared for the worst.

A broken scream came at him and then he could hear the sword sinking in the stone wall. No pain. Nothing. Nothing but a gentle pressure against his chest. The sound of sobbing forced him to open his eyes. A sight he’d not seen too often was upon him.

“I.. I don’t want to do this..” Zarách pressed his face deeper into Elrahel’s chest while grabbing his jacket as if he didn’t want to let go. Perhaps he didn’t. The mage finally realised what had happened in the end and he wrapped his arms around his lover.

“Shh.. You don’t have to. It’s okay,” he comforted the other while gently stroking his hair.

“I’m such an asshole.. You didn’t.. You didn’t even attack me and, and I just.. Kept going like it was all I could do..” he was full on crying now.

“But you listened. That’s the most important part.”

“I should’ve noticed! It’s not like I do battle for my job, now do I! Just.. Please.. Please don’t leave me! I don’t know what I’m supposed to do anymore..”

It was heartbreaking enough to see Zarách like this but nothing else would really help at this point.

“It’s okay. I’ll be here for you. Always, I promise. We’ll be together forever.”

“Why would you have me after all the pain I’ve caused to you? It’s not fair..”

“Because I love you, you idiot. That bond isn’t broken by any stupid war.”

Zarách stopped his sobbing to look up at the taller elf in slight disbelief.

"You still do?"

"Of course. Don't you?"

"Too much."

"Good. You're never alone. Remember that," Elrahel wiped the tears out of the other's mess of a face with a faint smile and proceeded to lean down for a kiss they'd not shared in such a long time.


End file.
